The Filing Cabinet
by NCIS Obsession
Summary: Ellie Bishop is a new agent on Team Gibbs, but she doesn't quite feel like she belongs. Late at night in the bullpen, she has an experience involving two wise ex-agents who help her in her transition to this new life. Bishop meets Ziva and Kate fanfic.


_Boy, it feels good to be back. I have an unfinished story out there but before I worked on that I needed a way to get back in the groove. This is my way of testing out my writing capabilities after having all my writing confidence smashed out of me by my insane senior AP English teacher. Thanks school. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one-shot. It got the most votes on my poll so I decided to write it up now that I actually got some free time for once. Who knows how long that will last. Most nights I had 6+ hours of homework in addition to 7 hours of school. It really wasn't healthy and it sucked. Needless to say, graduation was a relief. I wasn't sure I was gonna make it lol._

 _But enough about my struggles. Let's get right to it._

 **The Filing Cabinet-**

The black-haired woman walked in just as Bishop had placed the crowbar to the filing cabinet and was about to pry it open.

"What are you doing?" she asked from across the bullpen, startling the young agent who had thought she was alone. It was, after all, way past quitting time.

Bishop turned around, crowbar in hand, and squinted toward the unknown voice that had called out to her. She saw that it was another young woman, seemingly an agent, but she had never seen her before.

Realizing she hadn't answered the woman's question yet, she responded, "This stupid filing cabinet is locked and it's been bugging me for months. It's killing me not knowing what's inside it."

The woman gave a knowing smile. "What do you think is inside it?" she asked.

Bishop shrugged. "I don't know. But I do know that I probably shouldn't believe what Tony and McGee have told me is in it," she said with a laugh.

The other woman chuckled as well. "Let me guess, your partners? Probably a smart choice."

Bishop glanced back at the cabinet again, and then at the crowbar. "There's just something about the unknown that makes it so fascinating."

There was a pause, and for a moment Bishop forgot the woman was there.

"You know, the agents that used to sit at that desk kept the key taped to the bottom of the drawer," the black-haired woman broke in again. Bishop swerved around in her chair to face the mysterious woman, a puzzled look adorning her face. Although she now had about a million more questions buzzing around in her head, she turned back to her desk to see if what the woman said was true.

When she felt the key slip over her hand, she laughed and turned back to face the woman, calling out, "Hey, I never did catch your name," but the lady had disappeared. Confused, Bishop shrugged her shoulders and turned again to the curious cabinet, placing the key in the keyhole and turning it slowly.

She took a deep breath and slid the drawer open, waiting with anticipation to see what was inside. As it opened, a bright light beamed out, causing Bishop to shield her eyes and turn away.

When she again opened her eyes, she didn't know where she was. It looked just like the bullpen, only the walls, ceiling, and floor were a shining white, almost too bright to look at, and that's saying something considering the usual orange color is already blinding enough. Upon further inspection, she saw that she was still at her desk, only all her trinkets and stacks of paperwork were gone.

"Hello?" She called out to what seemed like an endless expanse of nothingness.

From behind her, a friendly voice answered. "Hi, Ellie."

Bishop turned to find the dark haired woman she had seen earlier in the bullpen smiling back at her. "Who are you? What is this place?" she asked almost frantically, her powerful logic failing her for the first time. She stood from her desk and looked around trying to find some sign that this was not real, that she had fallen asleep at her desk and entered into a strange dream or something.

The dark-haired woman walked toward her, taking a seat on the edge of the desk. "I'm Kate. Well, Caitlin Todd, but…"

"Kate? As in special agent? But you're…you're…" Bishop rambled on, her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Dead?" Kate finished with a small laugh. "Yeah, I'm dead."

Bishop paled and felt her throat go dry. "Then am I…am I…?"

"Dead?" Kate finished again. "No. No, you're alive, no need to worry."

Bishop plopped back down into her desk chair trying to make sense of the world. Eventually, she looked back up to the dead agent and repeated her question from earlier. "Then where are we?"

Kate smiled and folded her arms across her chest. "Well, we call this place 'The Filing Cabinet'." Kate could tell that this information had just about blown Bishop's mind and quickly amended her statement. "We're not actually _in_ the filing cabinet," she was quick to assure, "We just call it that. It's pretty clever actually, it's like the place where history files all the past agents who have occupied this desk. Like a filing cabinet of NCIS special agents."

"But how? How is this possible?" Bishop asked.

Kate shrugged. "No one is actually sure, but here we are. We just kind of roll with it."

Bishop muttered, "Unbelievable," and spun around in her chair to take a better look at her surroundings.

Kate looked at her watch and glanced at the elevator. "Ziva should be here any minute," she spoke nonchalantly.

Bishop's eyes widened. "ZIVA?!" Just then they heard a 'ding' and the elevator doors opened. Out stepped a beautiful Israeli woman with curly, brown hair and dark, fierce eyes.

"Sorry I am late," she spoke with a slight accent.

Bishop's jaw dropped. "Wow, it is… _such_ an honor to meet you," she said. "Both of you."

Ziva gave a smile as she walked in and sat down at her old desk. "You as well. We have been wondering when you would finally get into that filing cabinet. Some people need a little more…assistance…than others to get it open," she winked at Kate who winked back.

"I have so many questions…" Bishop spoke, her brain a whirlwind of thoughts buzzing around.

Kate and Ziva looked at each other. "Well, that's why we're here," Kate said.

"The filing cabinet sends the past agents whose advice would be the most helpful to the new agent," Ziva explained. "What would you like to know?"

Bishop thought for a moment. Of all the things she could ask these legendary past agents, what should she ask first? Should she ask about Gibbs? Tony? McGee? Maybe get some tips for dealing with the team, how to be a better agent, how to impress Gibbs?

After much deliberation, Bishop finally stammered out, "How did you guys do it? No matter what I do, I feel like I'm not quite living up to Gibbs' standards. I'm not really getting any better, I mess up all the time. I just can't seem to improve my skills as an agent. And the team. I feel like I'm invading on sacred family time, like I'm an outsider that doesn't belong."

Kate laughed. "I had that problem as well. Sometimes I wondered if Gibbs was right to pick me for his team. I felt like I was a disappointment to him sometimes. But I did get better. Just follow your team's lead, be confident in what you can do, and remember: it's a team effort. Your skills and weaknesses are complementary with the rest of your team's. If you guys work together you'll be unstoppable. Just remember that. You're not as powerful alone."

Bishop nodded. No wonder these agents were so esteemed; they were friendly, helpful, and wise all at once!

"I don't know that I deserve your seat," she stated, glancing from one agent to the other, "You guys left quite a mark on the team." Bishop paused, looking curiously at Ziva. "Especially you."

Ziva's face reddened slightly, almost too little to notice. She knew exactly who Bishop was hinting about when she said 'team.' She decided not to broach the subject unless it was Bishop who brought it up. It was a little too painful to talk about still, what with the course of recent events, but she knew she would have to answer whatever question the new agent threw at her. After all, that is why she is there.

"What happened between you and Tony?" Bishop asked Ziva. "I know you guys were more than just friends or coworkers. When you left… Well, I've never actually met the carefree, happy Tony before."

Ziva sighed. "Tony and I were a lot of things. But to sum it up, it was years and years of friendly banter and subtle flirting which surmised in us falling for each other. We tried to hide it from each other—we even tried to hide it from ourselves—but when Tony found me in Israel last year…well, I suppose we gave in."

Bishop looked as if she were hanging on to every word Ziva said. "Then why didn't you come back with him? Why did you stay?"

"It is complicated," Ziva replied, "But a large portion of that decision was my past, particularly the pain that I had caused others."

"Ari…" Bishop breathed. Ziva raised an eyebrow at the young agent's knowledge of the subject. It was clear that she had done some reading up on Ziva's past. Not surprising, Ziva had done the same for Kate.

"I, for one, am glad you pulled the trigger, Ziva," Kate put in, "But I am sorry. He was your brother. I can't imagine doing that to someone close to me." Ziva turned away causing Kate to worry that she had offended her. "It shows that you are, truly, a good person, Ziva. To be able to see past the lies and fight for good even when it means you lose something? That's selfless. That's heroic."

A tear fell from Ziva's eye. She had needed to hear that. Since the event occurred she had felt like a monster, but Kate put it in a different perspective.

Bishop watched this moment pass between her predecessors. She was completely in awe of all they had accomplished, and only hoped to be a fraction of the great agents they had been.

After a while, Ziva broke the silence. "And about fitting in and being a part of the team: don't let it concern you too much. I, too, felt the same way, and look how close the team and I became. When I first arrived, everyone hated me."

Bishop interrupted, "Even Abby?"

Ziva chuckled. "Yes, Abby seemed to hate me most of all." Bishop gave an incredulous look. "I was the sister that tried to protect a killer from justice. A killer that had taken the life of their agent and dear friend," she said with a glance toward Kate. "It took a while, but eventually we came to consider each other as family."

"Some more than others," Bishop mumbled, causing Kate to laugh aloud. Ziva's face reddened slightly.

Bishop sighed. She felt much better now. The desk didn't seem quite as daunting as it had before. She was even excited for work tomorrow, which she hadn't really felt before since she had felt so out of place.

"Soooo, how do I get back?" Bishop asked.

Kate smiled. "We'll take care of that."

Ziva walked toward the elevator, turning around to say goodbye. Bishop ran to catch up with her before she left. "Wait!" Ziva stopped. "I was wondering. If Tony wanted to see you, could he just…would he be able to…?"

"Tony cannot know about the Filing Cabinet," Ziva finished. "Keep the key hidden, and don't tell anyone what you have seen or heard here." Bishop gave a confused look but nodded her understanding. Ziva's face softened. "But between you and me, my heart still is in DC with Tony, and one day I intend to come back."

Bishop smiled and held out her hand for Ziva to shake. "It was great to meet you."

"And you as well. You will be a good agent," Ziva reassured, then turning to step onto the waiting elevator. Bishop walked contently back to her desk where Kate was waiting patiently.

"Ready?" Kate asked.

Bishop sat down in her chair. "I think so."

"Remember, if you ever need anything, we'll be here. Who knows, maybe some other agents will stop by. We could have a party." Kate laughed. "And if Tony or McGee ever tries to mess with you, I've got a couple good tricks you could try," she added mischievously. "Good luck out there. This is the best job you'll ever have, of that I am sure."

With that, Kate turned the desk lamp off and Bishop was enveloped in darkness. As her eyes adjusted to the absence of light, she realized she was back in the orange-walled bullpen of NCIS, and all her junk food and trinkets were back on her desk. With a smile, she locked the filing cabinet and hid the key where it had been before.

True, she was a new agent. True, she had a lot to learn. But after tonight, she felt much more confident and prepared to be the agent she knew she could be.

-.-.-

 _And that's all folks. Thanks for reading! I really hope it turned out okay. I finally finished it, after starting in April. Please leave a review if you feel so inclined. Constructive criticism is welcome. My English teacher didn't really get the "constructive" part of that when I wrote for her class. *shiver* I am so glad that's over._

 _Anyway, for anyone that has read my story "Life Won't Last Forever," you may have noticed that I have not updated in a really long time. Words cannot describe how bad I feel about that. I have a lot of legitimate excuses but I'm too lazy to write them all out so instead I'm just gonna blame AP English. Take that. I am hoping to get around to writing a really long chapter to wrap it all up, that way I don't have an unfinished story on my conscience anymore._

 _So once again, thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. I had this idea swimming around for a while. I had never written for Bishop or Kate before, so it was interesting. Ziva is for sure my favorite. Bishop… meh. I'm not hating, but she just doesn't have the same chemistry with the cast as the previous actresses did._

 _Till next time,_

 _~NCIS Obsession_


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